Lothar Beutel (born 6 May 1902 in Leipzig - died 16 May 1986 in Berlin-Steglitz) was a German pharmacist and Schutzstaffel officer who worked on behalf of the Sicherheitsdienst.
During the Nazi invasion of Poland SS-Brigadeführer Beutel commanded the fourth Einsatzgruppen. In this position Beutel organised the initial capture of Warsaw's Jewish population and set in motion their ghettoization.[1] Beutel was also active in Bydgoszcz where he personally ordered around 120-150 Poles to be taken to nearby woods and shot on 11 and 12 September 1939.[2] This figure is given as 900 by another source.[3]
Police commander Arthur Nebe ordered Beutel, who quickly became noted for his corruption, be investigated for the molestation of a Polish girl.[4] By mid-October 1939 Beutel had been replaced as Einsatzgruppe IV chief by Josef Albert Meisinger.[5]